Gathering in God's Name

Welcome to First Presbyterian Church, Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost July 12, 2020

GATHERING IN GOD’S NAME

TOLLING OF THE HOUR

CHIMES “Lord, Bid Your Servant Go in Peace” organist, Marsha Havens

WELCOME AND CONCERNS OF THE CHURCH

PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP

Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. People: And also with you.

PRELUDE “Adante con Espressione” by Muzio Clementi

SILENT PRAYER Be still and know that I am God. Psalms 46:10

CALL TO PRAISE from Psalm 19:1-4

Leader: The heavens are telling the glory of God, People: Whose handiwork the firmament proclaims.

Leader: Day to Day pours forth speech, People: And night to night declares knowledge.

Leader: There is no speech, nor are there words; People: Their voice is not such as ear can hear;

Leader: Yet their voice goes out through all the earth, People: Their words to the end of the world. Unison: Now send we our words to join them, our voices in praise to God!

INVOCATION

We acknowledge your presence, O God of times and seasons, in the great events of our history as nation and as global community; make equally evident to us your presence in our momentary gathering in this room. Our faith has no difficulty perceiving your action in the dramatic events of our day; give us faith now to see it in the gathering of two or three—or dozens or hundreds—in this congregational home.

Then, our lives and our liturgy woven together into a whole piece of cloth, we may feel your presence equally in our work and our worship, through Jesus Christ our Savior.

PRAISE HYMN No. 26 “Earth and All Stars!” BLEST ARE THEY

VERSE 1 Earth and all stars! Loud rush-ing plan-ets! Sing to the Lord a new song! Hail, wind, and rain! Loud blow-ing snow-storm! Sing to the Lord a new song! God has done mar-vel-ous things. We too sing prais-es with a new song!

VERSE 2 Trum-pet and pipes! Loud clash-ing cym-bals! Sing to the Lord a new song! Harp, lute, and lyre! Loud hum-ming cel-los! Sing to the Lord a new song! God has done mar-vel-ous things. We too sing prais-es with a new song!

VERSE 3 En-gines and steel! Loud pound-ing ham-mers! Sing to the Lord a new song! Lime-stone and beams! Loud build-ing work-ers! Sing to the Lord a new song! God has done mar-vel-ous things. We too sing prais-es with a new song!

VERSE 4 Knowl-edge and truth! Loud sound-ing wis-dom! Sing to the Lord a new song! Daugh-ter and son! Loud pray-ing mem-bers! Sing to the Lord a new song! God has done mar-vel-ous things. We too sing prais-es with a new song!

CALL TO RECONCILIATION PRAYER OF CONFESSION

In all earthly time, Generous Creator, what nation has ever received more in material wealth than ours; or been blessed by the ingenuity of so diverse and intelligent a people; or assembled such awesome power, the envy of nations and the dread of tyrants? And how, Frightful Judge, shall we render a satisfactory account of our stewardship of these gifts? Stung by greed, we despoil the land, abuse the poor, and forget your law.

Lusting for fame and success, we squander precious genius on the manufacture of useless things and consume vast wealth in the production of waste. Drunk with power, we throw our weight around like the neighborhood bully, fearing to trust the community of nations to solve global problems. Remind us, our God, that nations rise and fall to suit your purpose. Then make of this nation a holy people, fit for holy duty, in service to a beloved world.

Hear our prayers as we pray to you in silence…

SILENT CONFESSION “LORD, HAVE MERCY” HERITAGE SERVICE MUSIC

Lord, have mer-cy Christ, have mer-cy Lord, have mer-cy

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Leader: Friends, believe in the good news of the gospel. People: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.

“GLORY TO GOD” HERITAGE SERVICE MUSIC

Glo-ry to God in the high-est, and on earth peace to peo-ple of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we a-dore you, we glo-ri-fy you, We give you thanks for your great glo-ry, Lord God, heav’n-ly King, O God, al-might-y Fa-ther.

Lord Je-sus Christ, On-ly Be-got-ten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Fa-ther, You take a-way the sins of the world, have mer-cy on us; You take a-way the sins of the world, re-ceive our prayer; You are seat-ed at the right hand of the Fa-ther, have mer-cy on us.

For you a-lone are the Ho-ly One, you a-lone are the Lord, You a-lone are the Most High, Je-sus Christ, With the Ho-ly Spir-it, in the glo-ry of God the Fa-ther. A-men.

PASSING THE PEACE

Leader: The peace of Christ be with you; People: and also, with you.

(Please greet those near you, sharing Christ’s peace)

PROCLAIMING GOD’S WORD

INTROIT TO THE WORD HYMN No. 453 “Open Your Ears, O Faithful People” YISRAEL V’ORAITA

VERSE 1 O-pen your ears, O faith-ful people; O-pen your ears and hear God’s word. O-pen your hearts, O roy-al priest-hood; God has come to you.

REFRAIN God has spo-ken to the peo-ple, hal-le-lu-jah! God has spo-ken words of wis-dom, hal-le-lu-jah! God has spo-ken to the peo-ple, hal-le-lu-jah! God has spo-ken words of wis-dom, hal-le-lu-jah!

VERSE 2 They who have ears to hear the mes-sage, They who have ears, now let them hear; They who would learn the way of wis-dom, Let them hear God’s word.

SING REFRAIN PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Psalm 65 cantor, Ben Winn

New Testament Lessons: Hebrews 11: 1,3 James 2: 14-17

Leader: This is the Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.

SERMON “Faith” Rev. John Gibson

RESPONDING TO GOD’S WORD

* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Confession of 1967

In each time and place there are particular problems and crises through which God calls the church to act.

The church, guided by the Spirit, humbled by its own complicity and instructed by all attainable knowledge, seeks to discern the will of God and learn how to obey in these concrete situations.

The following are particularly urgent at the present time.

God has created the peoples of the earth to be one universal family.

In God’s reconciling love, God overcomes the barriers between brothers and breaks down every form of discrimination based on racial or ethnic difference, real or imaginary.

The church is called to bring all people to receive and uphold one another as persons in all relationships of life: in employment, housing, education, leisure, marriage, family, church, and the exercise of political rights.

Therefore, the church labors for the abolition of all racial discrimination and ministers to those injured by it.

Congregations, individuals, or groups of Christians who exclude, dominate, or patronize their fellow neighbors, however subtly, resist the Spirit of God and bring contempt on the faith which they profess.

AFFIRMATION HYMN No. 172 “Blest Are They” BLEST ARE THEY

VERSE 1 Blest are they, the poor in spir-it; Theirs is the king-dom of God. Blest are they, full of sor-row; They shall be con-soled.